Peace

By Judy Edwards

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27.)

What is peace?

True peace is a feeling of love and safety and quiet that comes from the Lord. It is a feeling that a person has when he knows that Heavenly Father and Jesus love him and that They have a plan for him.

When Jesus lived upon the earth, He taught His followers that they could have peace, that Heavenly Father loved them, that He, Jesus, had been sent to help them.

Jesus’ message of peace is the same today as it was long ago: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27.)

Jesus promises us inner peace—a feeling of love and safety that can be felt even in times of difficulty. This kind of peace is a special blessing from the Lord.

Elder F. Enzio Busche of the Quorum of the Seventy learned about peace when he was a boy. He says, “During World War II in my home country of Germany, I lived with my mother and four sisters far away from home in southern Germany in two very small, humble rooms. We had fled from our home because of the many air attacks that had destroyed our city and threatened our lives. My father was separated from us because he had been drafted into the army. I was too young to understand the dramatic events happening around me during that terrible war.

“Lying in bed one night in the room I shared with two of my sisters, I remember an intense feeling of loneliness. … I was awake until early in the morning, and I was so overcome with despair that I began to cry. I wept and wept.

“Suddenly something changed. A comforting power enveloped me, and a small voice said to my soul, ‘You are My child. Have trust in Me.’

“Immediately joy and happiness filled my heart. All my fear, loneliness, and despair were changed into feelings of warmth and comfort. That night I learned for the first time that there is some unseen but loving Person who is concerned about me.” (Blazer A manual, page 126; Friend, October 1980, page 6.)

Elder Busche experienced the peace that comes from the Lord.

Instructions: Look up the reference for each statement about peace, then match the statement with the person(s) who said it or to whom it was said.

People of King Benjamin		1. “The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace” (Ps. 29:11; Ps. 29:preface).
Paul		2. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come” (Mosiah 4:3).
David		3. “And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace” (Alma 24:19; Alma 24:preface).
Martin Harris		4. “Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you” (2 Cor. 13:11; 2 Cor.: full title).
People of Anti-Nephi-Lehi		5. “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me” (D&C 19:23; D&C 19:preface).
Jayne Malan		6. “You know who you are. You have felt the Savior’s loving, guiding hand as you have followed the promptings of the Holy Ghost and have found the peace I speak of in your hearts.” (Friend, January 1994, inside front cover.)

Answers:

Sharing Time Ideas

Using “I Feel My Savior’s Love” (Children’s Songbook, page 74), discuss the feeling of peace that comes from knowing that Jesus loves us and that He cares for us. Ask what we can do to keep this feeling of peace. (Follow Him, give our lives to Him, offer Him our hearts.)
Discuss the examples of peace from the Sharing Time page. Have the children dramatize, pantomime, or illustrate the stories or the circumstances of the examples.
Help each child create a “Book of Peace” for use throughout the year. One page could be the child’s own illustrated definition of peace. The examples of peace found on page 45 could be enlarged and reproduced for the children to label, color, and keep in their books.
Invite a Primary leader or teacher, or someone else in the ward, to share with the children a personal experience of being blessed with peace.

Illustrated by Lori Wing